GOSHEN – A total of 25 people, including
seven with prior felony convictions, have been arrested by law enforcement
in Orange County in their latest drug sweep dubbed “Operation County
Spring Cleaning.”
Five were arrested in Port Jervis, six in Middletown, three in the City
of Newburgh, two in New Windsor, five in the Town of Wallkill, three in
the Village of Monroe and one in the Village of Walden. Twenty-eight percent
of those arrested in this latest takedown are repeat offenders, said District
Attorney David Hoovler.
“We just have to keep doing this because of the way the drugs affect
everything we are looking at,” he said.
The arrests in this operation dealt with heroin and cocaine possession
or sales.
One startling revelation from Hoovler was that more and more criminals
opt not to participate in rehab as an alternative to prison.
“They don’t want to deal with probation. They don’t
want to deal with diversion court. They don’t want to deal with
treatment court. They would rather go to jail for two years than go through
the process, and we are starting to see more and more of that,”
he said.
Hoovler said in recent months, the police are receiving more tips from
residents of the communities, in particular the City of Port Jervis, where
people will report suspicious activity and even provide license plate
numbers.
One suspect, Anthony Maillet, 34, of Port Jervis, was arrested after a
community tip. He was previously arrested on drug charges as part of “Operation
Frostbite” in February.
